Lender launches 18 month bridging term

Lender launches 18 month bridging term




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The face of bridging is set to change as a Hertfordshire lender announces its new 18 month loan option.

 West One’s new 18 month bridging loan was launched on the 20th January and stands in contrast to most bridging loans, which are generally only available for up to twelve months.  

 

It seems that with high-street lenders remaining cautious, many are welcoming the longer term loan as a positive action within such a tough market.

 

James Moore, BDM at Regentsmead, said: “I think it is very positive for the market when a lender wishes to increase the term they wish their loan to be out for.”

 

According to West One, this 18 month loan option maintains the flexibility typical of a twelve month bridging loan, with no exit penalties, while helping clients avoid costly loan extensions.

 

However, there is still debate as to whether the 18 month loan term removes the loan from the category of the ‘short-term bridging loan’, because bridging loans are by definition intended to be short term solutions.

 

Alan Margolis, Head of Bridging at United Trust Bank, described the new loan as an “interesting move”, saying: “there are bound to be two schools of thought, namely those who believe that loans of 18 months or perhaps even more, may be regarded as short term bridging loans and those who believe that anything over 12 months is something of a different ‘beast’.”  

 

West One Loans, one of the UK’s largest privately funded bridging finance companies, have certainly made an innovative move in developing a longer term financial product that still maintains the benefits associated with short term bridging loans.

 

Duncan Kreeger, Chairman of West One Loans, said: “We always relish any opportunity to innovate and this longer term option is designed specifically to help a borrower avoid an expensive extension to their existing loan, which more often than not, will incur additional fees, a revaluation process and potentially higher rates.

 

“For example, a twelve month refurbishment project may overrun unexpectedly and in this case, the client would have been far better off taking out an 18 month loan at the outset, knowing they could always repay it early with no penalty. We continuously listen to feedback from our brokers and borrowers and always make an effort to implement a sound idea as quickly as possible.”

 

Our resident blogger, Bob, agrees with West One and thinks of the loan as a “great little product to have in a broker’s armoury.”

 

 

 

By Florence Mosshart

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